Napoli secure European berth

May 10, 2013 |

Milan

Edinson Cavani stretched his tally to a league-leading 27 goals as Napoli secured Serie A’s runner-up spot and Champions League football next season with a 3-0 win over Bologna on Wednesday.
Napoli are 11 points behind Juventus, who secured their 29th league title last weekend and beat Atalanta 1-0 for their 27th win of the campaign, but cannot now be caught by AC Milan who are seven points adrift.
Earlier on Wednesday, a Mario Balotelli brace and one apiece from Sulley Muntari and Mathieu Flamini put Milan within sight of the Champions League thanks to a 4-0 rout of already-relegated Pescara.
However Massimiliano Allegri’s side face a nervous last two games of the season, at home to Roma and away to Siena, before seeing if they will beat Fiorentina to third place after La Viola prevailed 1-0 away to Siena.
Whoever secures third place will have to successfully negotiate a qualifying round to get to the lucrative group stage.
Elsewhere, Inter Milan’s hopes of playing any kind of European football next season were derailed by a 3-1 defeat at home to Lazio.
Inter were the last Italian team to win the Champions League, under Jose Mourinho in 2010, but their 15th defeat in what has been an injury-plagued campaign left them 33 points behind Juventus and seven behind fifth-placed Udinese in the final Europa League spot.
Inter had a terrible start when ’keeper Samir Handanovic turned the ball into his own net following a cross by Antonio Candreva.
The hosts levelled just after the half hour when Ricardo Alvarez beat Federico Marchetti with a header. Inter missed several chances and paid the price when Lazio were awarded a penalty on the stroke of half-time.

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